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After tucking the kids into bed, you sit back on the Still stumped? Peglar recommends the following parks to start with:
couch, turn on your TV and try to focus on one • Death Valley- The hottest, driest and lowest National Park, Death
thing you accomplished today. The quiet chirping Valley is known for its sand dunes. With over 3 million acres of
of your phone is a reminder you still have 20 emails land, the park offers visitors the opportunity to hike, take a Star
Wars Auto tour and bird watch.
you need to respond to before bed. Mindlessly you • Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park- Located about an hour
stare at the screen of the TV, realizing you are in and a half away from Yosemite, Peglar believes these parks are the
desperate need of an escape. state’s best kept secrets.
Jotting down possible destinations, you cringe at the thought of another • Yosemite- Known as one of the “crown jewels” of the United States
theme park vacation, with long lines, bad food and large crowds, which National Park system, Peglar said it is one of the places in Califor-
makes you reconsider if you even want to go on vacation. Closing your nia that just needs to be experienced.
eyes, you dream about a trip that would offer freedom and a chance to Once you have finalized where you want to go, make reservations right
recharge without dipping into your children’s college fund. away. Book more popular parks, like Yosemite, seven to ten months
Enter the road trip. This nostalgic American tradition has seen a prior to your trip to guarantee a camping spot or hotel close to the park.
massive spike in popularity, with the MMGY Global’s 2017–18 Portrait If you are a last-minute planner but still would like to hit the open road,
of American Travelers reporting they comprised 39 percent of Ameri- head to lesser known parks like Pinnacles, which is one of California’s
can vacations in 2016. newest National Parks, recommended Peglar.
It is difficult to comprehend where in an age time is money, and there
quite literally a delivery service for everything, Americans
are opting to hit the road for 18 hours versus flying for two.
Tori Peglar, co-brand and content director at National
Park Trips Media believes the answer may be simpler than
you would thing. Road trips are just more affordable.
“You can hop in a car and camp for a fraction of the cost,”
said Peglar. “You end sleeping in these amazing places that
you otherwise would never experience.”
Road trips offer travelers the opportunity to travel at their
own pace and provides the flexibility to go where the road
leads them. Generating an authentic adventure, road trips
facilitate the opportunity to reconnect with those they love
while basking in the beauty of mother nature.
There are a plethora of attractions in California to add to
your road trip itinerary, the most being the state’s treasure Making kids part of the trip is essential to a trips success
trove of National Parks. Boasting nine National Parks,
California has a vast terrestrial composition, which makes all its parks Remember the Journey is Part of the Destination
equally as unique as they are breathtaking.
Figuring out what you are going to do along the way is just as important
If you are a novice to road trips, the whole planning part of the trip may
seem overwhelming but the No. 1 tip is to focus on what you hope to as the destination itself. To keep your passengers engaged, Peglar sug-
gain from your trip and the rest will just fall into line. gested planning pit stops to amusement parks like Gilroy Gardens or
exhilarating experiences like ziplining.
Begin with End in Mind Keeping a cooler in the car and a tablecloth for roadside picnics is
The first step when planning a road trip is to determine what season another way to make your trips stops equally as memorable as the trip’s
you will be visiting and plan your activities accordingly. Tori Peglar destination.
recommended visiting parks like Joshua Tree in cooler months and “Some of these stops are not the best maintained and having a fun
Yosemite during spring or early summer. tablecloth really ups the ante,” said Peglar. “Bringing out a deck of
Once you have settled on a season, begin considering the ultimate goals cards during lunch is a good way to discourage screen time. My goal is
of the trip. Are there particular places you have to see? What type of to try my best to get away from electronics while traveling.”
terrain are you looking for? To answer these questions, Peglar suggests Southern California teacher Kelly Strong ditched the screens during
visiting National Park Media’s webpage, a site that offers visitors infor- her two-month summer road trip with her husband and 2-year-old son
mation about each of the western United States National Parks and free Easton in 2018. Strong believes it is important for families to be out in
National Park trip planning kits. nature, especially now considering how busy people’s lives are.
Strong substituted her son’s iPad with toys, convenient snacks like

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